Aerial double-double nailed, then named for Canadian gymnast

A B.C.-born athlete has created a new move in the world of women's gymnastics and added a new level of difficulty to elite competitions.

Victoria Moors, who was born in Surrey and now lives in Cambridge, Ont., was the first female gymnast to perform a floor routine element formerly known as a "layout double double" in a world-level competition earlier this month.

Now, the 16-year-old gets to have the manoeuvre named after her, according to a decision on new women's elements issued by the Federation Internationale de Gymnastique Thursday.

The FIG described the floor exercise move as a "double salto backward stretched with 2/1 twist (720⁰)."

Kyna Fletcher, the national team director for Gymnastics Canada's women's artistic program, said the Moors move is a difficult set of twists and turns during a backflip.

"They're jumping off the floor and fully stretched, flipping backwards with a full twist in the first and the second flip."

Fletcher said Moors had been working on the new move, which is already a staple in men's gymnastics, for a couple of years.

"For Victoria, she's a natural flipper, and a natural twister. She has springy, springy legs," Fletcher said.

But the move is so difficult, it has created a new category for women's gymnastics. Difficulty is generally ranked from letters A to H — this move rates an "I."

In Moors' first try at the World Championships in Antwerp, she fell to her knees trying to complete it.

But in a later routine, she stuck the landing — to wild applause.